CN220064570U

CN220064570U - Driving mechanism

Info

Publication number: CN220064570U
Application number: CN202320889460.9U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴祚享; 程永耘
Original assignee: TDK Taiwan Corp
Current assignee: TDK Taiwan Corp
Priority date: 2022-04-19
Filing date: 2023-04-19
Publication date: 2023-11-21
Anticipated expiration: 2033-04-19
Also published as: CN220357402U; US20230333446A1; CN116909071A; US20230333447A1; CN116909072A

Abstract

The utility model discloses a driving mechanism for driving an optical unit to move, which comprises a fixed part, a movable part and a driving unit. The movable part is connected with the optical unit and the fixed part, wherein the movable part can move relative to the fixed part. The driving unit is used for driving the movable part and the optical unit to move relative to the fixed part.

Description

Driving mechanism

Technical Field

The present utility model relates to a driving mechanism, and more particularly, to an iris diaphragm mechanism.

Background

With the development of technology, many electronic devices (such as smart phones or digital cameras) have photographing or video recording functions. The use of these electronic devices is becoming more and more popular and is evolving towards a convenient and light-weight design that provides more options for the user.

The electronic device with photographing or video recording function can be provided with an optical module, and the optical module driving mechanism is required to adjust the aperture size to change the light entering amount. The light can pass through the optical module and the optical component driving mechanism to form an image on the photosensitive component. However, the trend of the mobile device is to have smaller volume and higher stability, so how to effectively reduce the size of the optical device driving mechanism and improve the stability thereof is an important issue.

Disclosure of Invention

The utility model provides a driving mechanism for driving an optical unit to move, which comprises a fixed part, a movable part and a driving unit. The movable part is connected with the optical unit and the fixed part, wherein the movable part can move relative to the fixed part. The driving unit is used for driving the movable part and the optical unit to move relative to the fixed part.

In an embodiment, the driving unit includes a shape memory alloy component, when the shape memory alloy component has a first length, the movable portion is at a first position relative to the fixed portion, and when a current signal is applied to the shape memory alloy component and the shape memory alloy component is changed from the first length to a second length, the shape memory alloy component drives the movable portion to move from the first position to a second position relative to the fixed portion.

In an embodiment, the driving mechanism further includes a sliding member disposed on the movable portion and contacting the shape memory alloy component, wherein the fixed portion is formed with an elongated guiding structure, and the sliding member contacts a first end of the guiding structure when the movable portion is at the first position relative to the fixed portion, wherein the movable portion is driven by the sliding member to move from the first position to the second position relative to the fixed portion when the sliding member is pressed by the shape memory alloy component to slide along the guiding structure, and the sliding member contacts a second end of the guiding structure.

In one embodiment, the guiding structure is an elongated groove.

In an embodiment, the fixing portion has a polygonal structure, and an inclination angle is formed between the guiding structure and a side edge of the fixing portion.

In one embodiment, the inclination angle is 45 degrees.

In an embodiment, the movable portion is annular and has an elongated sliding rail formed thereon, and the sliding member passes through the sliding rail and extends to the guiding structure.

In an embodiment, the sliding rail extends in a first direction, the guiding structure extends in a second direction, and the second direction and the first direction are not parallel to each other.

In an embodiment, the first direction and the second direction are not perpendicular to each other.

In an embodiment, an angle is formed between the first direction and the second direction, and the angle is between 20 degrees and 70 degrees.

In an embodiment, the driving mechanism further includes a housing, the fixed portion and the movable portion are disposed in the housing, and the smooth member is disposed on an inner surface of the housing and faces the sliding member, so as to contact the sliding member and prevent the sliding member from being skewed with respect to the movable portion.

In an embodiment, the fixing portion has a polygonal structure, and the sliding member is adjacent to a corner of the polygonal structure.

In an embodiment, the driving mechanism further includes a bottom plate, the fixed portion is located between the movable portion and the bottom plate, and the bottom plate is formed with a guiding slot, wherein the sliding member passes through the movable portion and the fixed portion and extends into the guiding slot.

In one embodiment, the guiding groove is parallel to the guiding structure.

In an embodiment, the driving mechanism further includes a sensing component disposed on the movable portion and the base plate for sensing a change in position of the movable portion relative to the fixed portion.

In an embodiment, the driving mechanism further includes an elastic component disposed on the fixing portion, and the sliding component is located between the elastic component and the shape memory alloy component.

In an embodiment, the driving mechanism further includes a magnetic component disposed on the fixing portion, and the shape memory alloy component is located between the magnetic component and the sliding component.

In an embodiment, the optical unit includes a first blade and a second blade pivoted to the fixing portion, for partially shielding an opening of the fixing portion, wherein light can enter the driving mechanism along an incident direction and pass through the opening, and the first blade and the second blade at least partially overlap when viewed along the incident direction.

In an embodiment, the optical unit further includes a third blade pivotally connected to the fixing portion for partially shielding the opening, wherein the first blade and the third blade at least partially overlap when viewed along the incident direction, and the second blade and the third blade at least partially overlap.

In an embodiment, the driving mechanism further includes a protection component, and the protection component at least partially overlaps the optical unit when viewed along the incident direction.

Drawings

The utility model will be best understood from the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is emphasized that, in accordance with the practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale and are used for illustration purposes only. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity of discussion. Various embodiments are described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like or similar components throughout the several views.

Fig. 1 and 2 show exploded views of a drive mechanism 100 according to an embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 3 and 4 are perspective views showing the assembled driving mechanism 100 of fig. 1 and 2.

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of the drive mechanism 100 of fig. 3 with the housing 10 removed.

Fig. 6 shows an exploded view of the drive mechanism 100 of fig. 4 after removal of the housing 10.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic view of the blade S partially shielding the opening H of the fixed portion 40 when the movable portion 30 is located at a first position relative to the fixed portion 40.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic view of the sliding member P at a first end 411 of the guiding structure 41 when the movable portion 30 is located at the first position relative to the fixed portion 40.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view of the movable portion 30 when driven by the sliding member P to rotate from the first position shown in fig. 7 to a second position relative to the fixed portion 40.

Fig. 10 shows a schematic view of the sliding member P at a second end 412 of the guiding structure 41 when the movable portion 30 is located at the second position relative to the fixed portion 40.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the driving mechanism 100.

Fig. 12 shows a schematic view of a magnetic assembly M disposed on the outside of the slider P, and a heart-shaped spring R' disposed on the inside of the slider P.

The reference numerals are as follows:

10 casing

20 bottom plate

21 guide groove

30 moving part

301 pivot shaft

31 sliding rail

40 fixing part

401 pivot shaft

41 guiding structure

42 annular flange

411 first end

412 second end

50 drive unit

A31 central axis

A41 central axis

B1 protective assembly

B2 protective assembly

C conductive terminal

H is an opening

H1-hole

h2:hole

HM magnet

HS sensing assembly

P sliding piece

R elastic assembly

S-blade

S1 first blade

S2 second blade

S3 third blade

S4 fourth blade

S5 fifth blade

S6 sixth blade

M magnetic assembly

R': heart spring

W smooth assembly

Detailed Description

The driving mechanism of the embodiment of the present utility model is described below. However, it will be readily appreciated that embodiments of the present utility model provide many suitable authoring concepts that can be implemented in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments disclosed are illustrative only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the utility model in any way.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be appreciated that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present utility model and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Referring first to fig. 1 to 6, fig. 1 and 2 show exploded views of a driving mechanism 100 according to an embodiment of the present utility model, fig. 3 and 4 show assembled perspective views of the driving mechanism 100 in fig. 1 and 2, fig. 5 shows a perspective view of the driving mechanism 100 in fig. 3 with the housing 10 removed, and fig. 6 shows exploded views of the driving mechanism 100 in fig. 4 with the housing 10 removed.

As shown in fig. 1 to 6, the driving mechanism 100 according to an embodiment of the present utility model mainly includes a housing 10, two protection components B1 and B2, a plurality of blades S, an annular movable portion 30, at least one sliding member P, a fixed portion 40, at least one driving unit 50, an elastic component R, a base 20, a magnet HM and a sensing component HS.

Specifically, the driving mechanism 100 of the present embodiment is a variable aperture (variable aperture, VA) mechanism, wherein the movable portion 30 is rotatably sleeved on an annular flange 42 inside the fixed portion 40, the blade S can form an optical unit, and the pivots 301, 401 on the movable portion 30 and the fixed portion 40 respectively pass through holes H1, H2 (as shown in fig. 5) on the blade S, so that the blade S can rotate relative to the movable portion 30 and the fixed portion 40, wherein the opening H in the center of the fixed portion 40 can be partially shielded by the blade S to control the incident light quantity (incident quantity of light) passing through the driving mechanism 100.

The sensing assembly HS and the magnet HM together form a sensing assembly, wherein the sensing assembly HS is disposed on the base 20 (e.g. a printed circuit board), the magnet HM is disposed at the bottom side of the movable portion 30, the frame 40 has an opening corresponding to the magnet HM, and the magnet HM passes through the frame 40 through the opening. It should be appreciated that the aforementioned sensing component HS is, for example, a Hall sensor (Hall sensor), which can sense the position of the magnet HM to obtain the change of the position of the movable portion 30 relative to the fixed portion 40.

It should be noted that, the fixing portion 40 has a polygonal structure (e.g. a quadrilateral structure), and the sliding member P is a sliding rod (sliding pin), wherein the sliding member P is located adjacent to a corner of the polygonal structure, and the sliding member P can pass through the sliding rail 31 on the movable portion 30 and the guiding structure 41 on the fixing portion 40 during assembly, and extend downward into the guiding slot 21 of the bottom plate 20, wherein the guiding slot 21 is parallel to the guiding structure 41.

In the present embodiment, the sliding rail 31, the guiding structure 41 and the guiding groove 21 are elongated grooves formed on the movable portion 30, the fixed portion 40 and the bottom plate 20, respectively.

On the other hand, the driving units 50 and the elastic component R are disposed at the bottom side of the fixing portion 40, wherein each driving unit 50 includes a Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) component, and the driving units 50 can be electrically connected to the underlying chassis 20 (e.g. a printed circuit board) or an external circuit through the conductive terminals C, and the elastic component R is, for example, a metal reed, and the sliding member P is sandwiched between the driving units 50 and the elastic component R.

It should be appreciated that the sliding member P can be driven by the force generated by the driving unit 50 and the elastic component R to move in the sliding rail 31 of the movable portion 30, so as to control the rotation angle of the movable portion 30 and the blade S relative to the fixed portion 40, so as to properly cover the opening H and adjust the incident light passing through the driving mechanism 100.

As can be seen from fig. 1 to 6, the two ring-shaped protection components B1 and B2 are disposed on the upper and lower sides of the blade S, respectively, and can be used to shield light and protect the blade S.

Referring to fig. 7 and 8, fig. 7 is a schematic diagram showing that the blade S partially covers the opening H of the fixed portion 40 when the movable portion 30 is located at a first position relative to the fixed portion 40, and fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing that the sliding member P is located at a first end 411 of the guiding structure 41 when the movable portion 30 is located at the first position relative to the fixed portion 40.

As shown in fig. 7 and 8, before the driving unit 50 (the shape memory alloy component) is not yet energized, the sliding member P passing through the movable portion 30 and the fixed portion 40 is affected by the elastic force of the elastic component R toward the outside, so that the sliding member P contacts the first end 411 (fig. 8) of the guiding structure 41, at this time, the movable portion 30 can be limited to a first position relative to the fixed portion 40, and at this time, the driving unit 50 (the shape memory alloy component) has a first length.

Referring to fig. 9 and 10, fig. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the movable portion 30 being driven by the sliding member P to rotate from the first position shown in fig. 7 to a second position relative to the fixed portion 40, and fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the sliding member P being located at a second end 412 of the guiding structure 41 when the movable portion 30 is located at the second position relative to the fixed portion 40.

As shown in fig. 9 and 10, after the driving unit 50 (the shape memory alloy assembly) is energized, the sliding member P passing through the movable portion 30 and the fixed portion 40 is compressed by the driving unit 50 (the shape memory alloy assembly) toward the inner side of the driving mechanism 100, so that the sliding member P slides along the guiding structure 41 and contacts the second end 412 (as shown by the arrow direction in fig. 10), at this time, the movable portion 30 can rotate from the first position shown in fig. 7 to a second position relative to the fixed portion 40, and the blade S can also rotate relative to the movable portion 30 and the fixed portion 40, so as to increase the incident light quantity passing through the opening H and the driving mechanism 100.

It should be understood that the central axis a41 of the guiding structure 41 of the present embodiment extends toward a first direction, and forms an inclination angle of about 45 degrees with one side of the polygonal fixing portion 40; in addition, the central axis a31 of the sliding rail 31 of the movable portion 30 extends toward a second direction, wherein the second direction is not parallel to the first direction and is not perpendicular to the first direction.

Specifically, an included angle is formed between the first direction and the second direction, and the included angle is between 20 degrees and 70 degrees. Furthermore, as can be seen in fig. 7-10, when the slider P is located at the first end 411 of the guide structure 41, it is located further from the center of the opening H than it is located at the second end 412 of the guide structure 41.

It should be noted that, as shown in fig. 7 and 9, the blade S (optical unit) mainly includes a first blade S1, a second blade S2, a third blade S3, a fourth blade S4, a fifth blade S5, and a sixth blade S6, where light can enter the driving mechanism 100 along an incident direction and pass through the opening H, and when viewed along the incident direction (Z-axis direction), the first blade S1 at least partially overlaps the second blade S2, the first blade S1 at least partially overlaps the third blade S3, and the second blade S2 at least partially overlaps the third blade S3.

The protection components B1 and B2 are at least partially overlapped with all the blades S when viewed along the incident direction (Z-axis direction).

Referring again to fig. 11, where fig. 11 shows an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the drive mechanism 100.

As shown in fig. 11, the sensing assembly HS and the magnet HM may together form a sensing assembly, wherein the sensing assembly HS is disposed on the base 20 (e.g. a printed circuit board), and the magnet HM is disposed at the bottom side of the movable portion 30 and passes through the fixed portion 40. It should be appreciated that the aforementioned sensing component HS is, for example, a Hall sensor (Hall sensor), which can sense the position of the magnet HM to obtain the change of the position of the movable portion 30 relative to the fixed portion 40.

In addition, as can be seen from fig. 11, the movable portion 30 and the fixed portion 40 are both disposed in the housing 10, and a smoothing member W may be disposed on the upper side of the sliding member P, wherein the smoothing member W is fixed on the inner side surface of the housing 10, and may contact with the sliding member P or be spaced apart from each other by a gap.

It should be appreciated that a smooth surface of the smooth member W faces the slide P, and is configured to contact the slide P to prevent the slide P from being skewed with respect to the movable portion 30 and the fixed portion 40. Similarly, another smoothing member W facing the slider P may be provided under the base plate 20 to prevent the slider P from being skewed with respect to the movable portion 30 and the fixed portion 40.

Referring next to fig. 12, fig. 12 shows a schematic view of a magnetic assembly M disposed on the outer side of the sliding member P, and a heart-shaped spring R' disposed on the inner side of the sliding member P.

In another embodiment of the present utility model, as shown in fig. 12, a magnetic element M or a heart-shaped spring R' may be used instead of the elastic element R, wherein the magnetic element M (e.g. a magnet) may be disposed on the fixing portion 40 or the base plate 20, and the driving unit 50 (e.g. a shape memory alloy element) is disposed between the magnetic element M and the sliding member P. In this way, the magnetic component M can provide a magnetic force to the sliding member P (e.g. a metal sliding rod) towards the outside of the driving mechanism 100, so as to ensure that the sliding member P can contact and be fixed at the first end 411 of the guiding structure 41 before the driving unit 50 (the shape memory alloy component) is not energized.

The present utility model utilizes a Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) assembly to drive the sliding member P to slide along the guiding structure 41 on the fixed portion 40, so as to effectively drive the movable portion 30 and the vane S to rotate relative to the fixed portion 40, thereby achieving the purpose of adjusting the incident light quantity, and further greatly reducing the size and volume of the driving mechanism 100, thereby being capable of helping to achieve miniaturization of the iris diaphragm (variable aperture, VA) mechanism.

Although embodiments of the present utility model and their advantages have been disclosed, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the utility model. Furthermore, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification, and those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate from the present disclosure that any process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps which are presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present application. Accordingly, the scope of the present application includes such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps. In addition, each claim constitutes a separate embodiment, and the scope of the utility model also includes combinations of the individual claims and embodiments.

Claims

1. A driving mechanism for driving an optical unit to move, comprising:

a fixing part;

a movable part connected with the optical unit and the fixed part, wherein the movable part can move relative to the fixed part; and

a driving unit for driving the movable part and the optical unit to move relative to the fixed part.

2. The driving mechanism as recited in claim 1 wherein the driving unit comprises a shape memory alloy element, the movable portion being in a first position relative to the fixed portion when the shape memory alloy element has a first length, and the shape memory alloy element driving the movable portion from the first position to a second position relative to the fixed portion when a current signal is applied to the shape memory alloy element and causes the shape memory alloy element to change from the first length to a second length.

3. The driving mechanism as recited in claim 2, further comprising a sliding member movably disposed on the movable portion and contacting the shape memory alloy member, wherein the fixed portion is formed with an elongated guiding structure, and the sliding member contacts a first end of the guiding structure when the movable portion is at the first position relative to the fixed portion, wherein the movable portion is driven by the sliding member to move from the first position to the second position relative to the fixed portion when the sliding member is pressed by the shape memory alloy member to slide along the guiding structure, and the sliding member contacts a second end of the guiding structure.

4. A drive mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the guide structure is an elongate channel.

5. The driving mechanism as recited in claim 4, wherein the fixed portion has a polygonal structure, and an inclination angle is formed between the guiding structure and a side of the fixed portion.

6. The drive mechanism of claim 5, wherein the tilt angle is 45 degrees.

7. A driving mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the movable portion is annular and is formed with an elongated rail through which the slider passes and extends to the guide structure.

8. The driving mechanism as recited in claim 7 wherein said rail extends in a first direction and said guide structure extends in a second direction, said second direction being non-parallel to said first direction.

9. The drive mechanism of claim 8, wherein the first direction and the second direction are not perpendicular to each other.

10. The driving mechanism as recited in claim 9 wherein said first direction and said second direction form an included angle between 20 degrees and 70 degrees.

11. The driving mechanism as recited in claim 3 further comprising a housing and a smooth member, said fixed portion and said movable portion being disposed within said housing, said smooth member being disposed on an inside surface of said housing and facing said sliding member for contacting said sliding member and preventing said sliding member from being skewed with respect to said movable portion.

12. The driving mechanism as recited in claim 3, wherein the fixed portion has a polygonal structure and the sliding member is adjacent to a corner of the polygonal structure.

13. The driving mechanism as recited in claim 3, further comprising a bottom plate, wherein the fixed portion is disposed between the movable portion and the bottom plate, and the bottom plate is formed with a guiding slot, wherein the sliding member passes through the movable portion and the fixed portion and extends into the guiding slot.

14. The drive mechanism of claim 13, wherein the guide slot is parallel to the guide structure.

15. The driving mechanism as recited in claim 13, further comprising a sensing assembly disposed on the movable portion and the base plate for sensing a change in position of the movable portion relative to the fixed portion.

16. The driving mechanism as recited in claim 3, further comprising an elastic member disposed on the fixed portion, and the sliding member is disposed between the elastic member and the shape memory alloy member.

17. The driving mechanism as recited in claim 3 further comprising a magnetic element disposed on said fixed portion, said shape memory alloy element being disposed between said magnetic element and said sliding member.

18. The driving mechanism as recited in claim 3 wherein the optical unit comprises a first blade and a second blade pivotally connected to the fixed portion for partially shielding an opening of the fixed portion, wherein light enters the driving mechanism along an incident direction and passes through the opening, and the first blade and the second blade at least partially overlap when viewed along the incident direction.

19. The driving mechanism as recited in claim 18, wherein the optical unit further comprises a third blade pivotally connected to the fixing portion for partially shielding the opening, wherein the first blade and the third blade at least partially overlap when viewed along the incident direction, and the second blade and the third blade at least partially overlap.

20. The drive mechanism of claim 18, further comprising a protective element, wherein the protective element at least partially overlaps the optical unit when viewed along the direction of incidence.